Manipulative
by Nukas
Summary: A drabble on a personal plot bunny for Mike using a fighting style of distraction, misdirection, and manipulation on opponents, and then having it maybe spiral out of control and turn into psychopathy directly. OR, r00d Author makes the fandom take a double take on our sweet little cinnamon roll's personality. Also, Mike grows to be OOC in this. The full description's inside.


**Title: Manipulative**

**Summary: A drabble on a personal plot bunny for Mike using a fighting style of distraction, misdirection, and manipulation on opponents, and then having it maybe spiral out of control and turn into psychopathy directly. I might even make a short story off of this. OR, r00d Author makes the fandom take a double take on our sweet little cinnamon roll's personality and question his ever-golden heart. I'm so sorry. Turtles are about 20-25 years old here. Also, Mike grows to be OOC in this, though I believe some of it still matches the canon versions of him.**

**Version/s: 2k3/2k7 (the idea of making people happy through emotional control might relate to other incarnations, but the rest only made me think of the 2k3 version)**

**Author: Nukas**

**Technicalities Gutter: I do not own the TMNT.**

* * *

Mike's a manipulator, and it took awhile for Don to piece it together.

When he thought about it, it seemed stupid and extra. Yeah, okay, so his brother knows what buttons to push to get people to feel what he wants them to, no big deal right? Normally, it was used for good things. Making others laugh and loosen up, lifting the tension in a room off of everyone's shoulders, those types of things. Still, Don realized, they were manipulative actions, no matter how sweet or well-meaning.

Then, there were the bad manipulative actions. Don didn't see them nearly as much when Mike was younger, and used to always chalk it up to Mike being an effective fighter, but it was still manipulation, wasn't it? Making his opponents mad or hitting their emotional lows in combat to, essentially, control them. Don began paying closer attention on the battle field to how his younger brother fought, and he was right.

Mike taunted, teased, and even straight up _insulted_ opponents to win, even though he probably could win without the dirty fighting because of his natural talent. He acted like he was goofing off and playing, causing his opponent to be slightly confused. After all, who could be laughing and joking around during a fight to the (supposed) death? Only a psychopath honestly. His behavior hardly phased known opponents, but enemies like the Purple Dragons or the (_human_) Foot Ninjas were sometimes scared of Mike's carefree nature. Others, like the Triceratons and the Federation when they had been on their space adventures, were just as confused. But back then, when Mike was a teenager, they had taken it as Mike just being a slacker who didn't take anything seriously, but Mike was getting older and his ways haven't really changed. Leo would lecture Mike's head off about his goofy attitude during patrols, but Mike never changed. He defended it once however, saying that his personality was part of his fighting style? Donny didn't understand what he meant on that until now. In a way, Mike scared Don just a little as he made these little dots line up. He noticed even smaller things too.

For example, and maybe he was watching too many serial killer documentaries lately, Mike _got to know people_. And when Don says that, he means that. Mike found people's weaknesses, then, if it came to it, exploited them. In a way, it was almost brilliant. Don would be lying if he said he never thought his brother was lacking a little in the intelligence department, but if Mike was pulling off _these_ sort of tricks? That was nearing the nature of a psychopath. He fooled those around him into believing he was some idiot, then flipped the card when he was able to list every weak point, every insecurity, every _minuscule flaw_ about said people. And all because he was so sociable and was able to slide into people's minds like it was nothing during a single conversation with them.

Don wanted nothing more than to bring this up with Leo and Raph, then have all three of them confront their youngest, but that sounded downright shady. Almost like he was _conspiring_ against Mike. So, he let it go. After all, Mike was using his emotional "skills" for good right? Making people laugh and smile, where was the psychopathy in that? Plus, he didn't use it on anyone who didn't deserve it, right? He used it on criminals and people trying to do more terrifying things than get inside your head.

But then Don made a small comment he couldn't keep in, and suddenly, Mike was using his "ability" on him.

"_Dude, you're so obviously lying. Bros, the hideout isn't by the docks."_

"_How d'ya know, knucklehead?"_

"_I just do. Then again, maybe we should still go check it out? I mean, worse case scenario? It's the wrong place, we turn back, and we just find another PD and interrogate him. It's not like the big boss isn't going to know. He'll find out the minute some other guy tells him the money's gone from that truck over there, conveniently when this guy makes his great escape after giving the enemies the wrong address, isn't that right?" He looked the guy dead in the face, making Don lock eyes with Leo. They shared a look of mutual shock and concern._

"_And worse case scenario for this guy here is, he's on the Purple Dragon's debt collection list. Unless…" The guy was wide-eyed, sweating all over. He swallowed, his throat incredibly dry._

"_U-u-unless?"_

"_You send us to hideout we're actually looking for, the one holding the drugs you guys are selling, and they have a much bigger problem on their hands. So big, they won't notice a lackey got away, without or with what I'm assuming is a small cash grab compared to what they're really making. But what do I know? This is all just theorizing. So, dude, what's it gonna be?" The worst part about all of this? Mike was smiling in such a sickeningly sweet way, almost as if he was some life-long friend of the Purple Dragon, simply giving him good life advice. He was getting inside the head of a man who was fearing for his life, like any other sane person would do when faced with four giant, mutated turtles carrying ninja weapons; he was taking advantage of him. Don didn't see the honor in any of this, but Leo was letting it slide so what could he say against it? The man caved and practically bared his soul to them. _

"_How'd you know that guy was lying, Mike?" Donny asked when they got back from burning the hideout. Leo and Raph had just taken the random stroke of genius from Mikey as if it was nothing (or at least pretended to), continuing forth with their mission. Don, however, couldn't just let it all go._

"_Huh? Oh, simple, people do things when they lie," he shrugged as if it was child's play._

"_Uh, okay, fair enough, but...the way you twisted his mind...Mike, seriously, buddy, when did you learn that?" And Mike turned the little smile he had on his face into a full blown grin. Not nearly as creepy as what he had given the other guy earlier, but something that made Don a bit nervous._

"_Why does it matter? Donny, we got our info and put down an up-and-coming side hustle for the PDs! I say we did what we had to and everyone came out okay, no harm no foul, right?" Donny couldn't disagree with that…_

"_But...c'mon, Mike, don't you feel just a little bit wrong for doing that to the guy? I mean, he was just a low level thug…" If anything, Don just wanted to tell Mike straight up that he manipulated the guy. True, it wasn't that big of a deal, but Mike was capable of doing something like that and...he was his little brother! He was their baby brother! He shouldn't be able to mix up people's feelings so easily and control them! He exploited the guy's fear of his boss and used it to basically blackmail him into giving them the right information. When had Mike become so okay with this?_

"_Donny, it's just a Dragon," He talked about the guy like he wasn't even a living, breathing being, "he's gonna take his money and go spend it somewhere stupid, meanwhile we took down the beginnings of a drug cartel. I'd say it was a win-win for everyone, right, big brother?" There. There it was. Mike knew 'big brother' was enough to make any of them digress. So, again, Donny let the weird behavior go. After all, Mike was horrible; he wouldn't use his skill for bad or anything. He was just using it to get information they needed so they could do something good, and that was fine._

Now? Don was just full of regret. He should've stopped the beginnings of this habit right from the get-go, but he didn't. He saw it, he put it all together, and he had let it go.

And this idiotic action of his left him watching his brother down-spiral.


End file.
